Towards a comprehensive system of controls for EU agencies

Abstract

EU agencies have been growing over the last 45 years, with a proliferation since the early 2000s. They are seen as an important instrument for shaping and implementing EU policies throughout a large number of policy areas. As the policy areas’ specificities vary greatly, including how much of a say the EU gets in regulating specific sectors, EU agencies also differ to a considerable extent. They can, for example, have different policy objectives, functions, powers, institutional structures and mechanisms to render account, to name but a few.